Imus, Imus, Imus
This post doesn't have a direction, it's just to get some shit off my chest about this Imus bullshit.
Imus's ass should have been fired a long time ago. If I were to say something like that on my J-O-B then I would be fired on the spot and sent packing. He and his accomplice were wrong for saying what they said on national radio. Did they not know that there would be consequences? But the reason that Imus was fired is not what he said, but because he lost sponsorship Old Boss upstairs couldn't care less what Imus says as long as he doesn't lose money.
In fact, I am glad that Tim Hardaway, Ann Coulter, and Don Imus have spoken their minds. It just reminds people that there are still discriminatory people in the world. People have started wearing rose-colored glasses thinking and believing that all is well and that there is no discrimination or hatred. These 3 people have shown us that we gaven't gotten far. If not for laws and regulations, we as black people would still be living by Jim Crow laws. Don't believe me, ask Mr. Imus if he would like to be able to tell one of those "jiggaboos" to move from a table that he wants in a restaurant.
The reason that we as minorities are allowed to make fun of white people with no fanfare is simple. We don't hate them and internalize it like they do us. When white people attempt to poke fun at black folk for our ways and customs, they do it with malice. Not humor.
I do not look at a white man with disdain or a white woman with contempt in my heart. But when a white man looks at me, I wonder what's he thinking of me. If I get on an elevator and a white woman get's on after me, I get off. For the most part, I think that white people hate or at least don't like minorities. They are scared of us because they don't understand our culture. They are scared of us because they are not exposed to us. Have you ever noticed how little white children will stare at you for hours when they see you? Watch one of them one day.
As much as I travel, I see this shit all of the time. White people honestly feel that their race makes them better than us. And this is a worldwide phenomenon. Ask Thierry Henry of the French National soccer team how many times he has been insulted with racial epithets in European countries. As your minority neighbor how may instances of discrimination they have witness to or been a victim of this year. See what they say.
This shit is never going to end because white people won't let go of the stereotypes and beliefs that have long ago been proven as bullshit. No matter what we do, the will still see a "nigger" when they see a Black person. They will still see a "spic" when they see a Hispanic person. They will still see a "kike" when they see a Jewish person. They will still see a "chink" when they see an Asian person. They will still see a "towel head" when they see a Middle Eastern person. This shit ain't gonna end.
Imus's ass should have been fired a long time ago. If I were to say something like that on my J-O-B then I would be fired on the spot and sent packing. He and his accomplice were wrong for saying what they said on national radio. Did they not know that there would be consequences? But the reason that Imus was fired is not what he said, but because he lost sponsorship Old Boss upstairs couldn't care less what Imus says as long as he doesn't lose money.
In fact, I am glad that Tim Hardaway, Ann Coulter, and Don Imus have spoken their minds. It just reminds people that there are still discriminatory people in the world. People have started wearing rose-colored glasses thinking and believing that all is well and that there is no discrimination or hatred. These 3 people have shown us that we gaven't gotten far. If not for laws and regulations, we as black people would still be living by Jim Crow laws. Don't believe me, ask Mr. Imus if he would like to be able to tell one of those "jiggaboos" to move from a table that he wants in a restaurant.
The reason that we as minorities are allowed to make fun of white people with no fanfare is simple. We don't hate them and internalize it like they do us. When white people attempt to poke fun at black folk for our ways and customs, they do it with malice. Not humor.
I do not look at a white man with disdain or a white woman with contempt in my heart. But when a white man looks at me, I wonder what's he thinking of me. If I get on an elevator and a white woman get's on after me, I get off. For the most part, I think that white people hate or at least don't like minorities. They are scared of us because they don't understand our culture. They are scared of us because they are not exposed to us. Have you ever noticed how little white children will stare at you for hours when they see you? Watch one of them one day.
As much as I travel, I see this shit all of the time. White people honestly feel that their race makes them better than us. And this is a worldwide phenomenon. Ask Thierry Henry of the French National soccer team how many times he has been insulted with racial epithets in European countries. As your minority neighbor how may instances of discrimination they have witness to or been a victim of this year. See what they say.
This shit is never going to end because white people won't let go of the stereotypes and beliefs that have long ago been proven as bullshit. No matter what we do, the will still see a "nigger" when they see a Black person. They will still see a "spic" when they see a Hispanic person. They will still see a "kike" when they see a Jewish person. They will still see a "chink" when they see an Asian person. They will still see a "towel head" when they see a Middle Eastern person. This shit ain't gonna end.
posted by That Dude Right There at
4/12/2007 08:59:00 AM
8 Comments:
some... not all
I guess you are right Reddman. Some not all, but I still wonder what ALL of them think about me.
What's good for the goose is also good for the gander. It's wrong for anyone to use racial slurs and epithets - regardless of race. As minorities we don't have any more right or privelege to use them on any other culture. I understand your frustration, but it is hypocritical to think that black folks (or folks of color) have no malice in their hearts for white folks and so are given free passes to say hurtful things. The solution is to not do it - regardless of culture. Quite honestly, we shouldn't feel comfortable speaking ill (even in jest) about our own culture.
The problem is this: White people, though they try to deny it they are able to enjoy the liberties of white privilege. That is the only reason Imus thought he could say what he said and get away with it. As long as we (minorities in general) are looked at as being less than white people we will be subjected to this type of behavior.
CBS and MSNBC did the right thing... Imus got two boots! I am sure he will be picked up by someone else, but his current employers did what they had to do.
I applaud and support this whole post. Like Reddmann said, its "some...not all", and thats the truth. I've definitely met many exceptions to the rule. But sadly, its ENOUGH so that we still have to deal with these issues.
(hmmm, oddly enough, thats probably the same thing that "they" say about "us").
Everyone's on the defensive, no one side is willing to budge first. Wonder how long this "truce" will hold out.
It does make you wonder. I don't hate whte people. I do hate ignorance and refusal to dispell ignorance. Why people spend the energy holding onto their steretypes ,prejudices etc is beyond me. if, at anytime i find myself thinking a certain way about a person i chide myself. I know that no book is fully represented by its cover...i only wish more folk would realize the same thing. Stop being so socially lazy and take the time to really read each other.
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I agree with you about the one good thing coming out of racists and homophobes is they show everyone that these prejudices still exist. That's why you won't catch me reacting to what those people have to say the way others do.
I think that in a society like ours (assuming we're all from the US), all of us--regardless of skin color--can't really help but internalize some racism. My definition of racism is not correlated with things that happened in the 1960s or the 1800s. It's correlated with "new" racism, i.e. subtle racism. That means that today, there are other ways to be racist than calling people "nigger," hanging people from trees, hating somebody based on race or feeling superior to somebody based on race.
I know racist black people, of which I am admittedly one, and racist Asians (I don't mention Latinos because I don't really know any). We (the other racists I know and I) make fun of white people to their faces and with them around and sometimes with other white people helping us. And we're only allowed to make fun of white people, not because we do it without malice (which, sometimes we do, usually we don't), but because white people do know on some level that they've done--and continue to do--so much worse to us, and because a lot of white people get a kick out of it. It's like, "Oh, look...the little nigs are talking about us. Oh, well...I'm off to bed so I can wake up early and head off to my corporate office tomorrow morning while this person will still be...oh, yes, at the comedy club telling jokes for a measely hundred dollars a night." In other words, a lot of white people are unaffected by it when we talk about them, whether or not it's with malice.
Frankly, I think we'd all be better off if we just admitted to ourselves what we really think about everybody else so that we can begin a dialogue and start looking at ways to check ourselves on the ignorance we all possess.
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